Fourth District congressional candidate state Sen. Eric Stewart, at a press conference in Murfreesboro, lambasts Republican opponent Rep. Scott DesJarlais over reports that DesJarlais pressed his mistress into getting an abortion. / John A. Gillis/DNJ

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MURFREESBORO — Local conservative voters questioned why past accusations that pro-life medical doctor and incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais urged a mistress and patient to get an abortion should matter now.

“You have to let people go on with their life and not hold accusations or sins of the past against them whether it’s true or not,” Mary Anne Maulbeck said while enjoying a hot dog roast at Old Fort Park with her Wednesday night Bible study grou. “What you have to look at is what good has he done for the community.”

Two local Democrats, however, said they are inclined to vote for Democratic nominee Eric Stewart of Franklin County to serve them in the 4th Congressional District after learning of the report Wednesday.

DesJarlais reportedly recorded the phone conversation with his mistress in 2000 while he was in the midst of a divorce with his then wife.

“I won’t vote for him,” Diane Smith said while cutting the hair of fellow Democrat Adrian Rippy Wednesday night at Dottie’s House of Beauty off Maney Avenue and State Street. “I can’t vote for him if he’s doing that. I don’t care if he’s a Republican or a Democrat. Why is he against abortion if he was trying to have someone have an abortion?”

Rippy agreed.

“It would be hard for me to give a vote for someone hypocritical like that,” Rippy said. “I can’t take your campaign seriously if you do one thing in front of us and one thing in the dark.”

DesJarlais Communications Director Robert Jameson did not deny the report, but contends the accusations are repeated attacks that came out in the previous election year in 2010.

“This is old news from the last election cycle that Tennesseans have already widely rejected,” Jameson said in an email statement. “Desperate personal attacks do not solve our nation’s problems, yet it appears that there are those who choose to continue to engage in the same gutter politics that were characterized by national media as the nastiest in the nation just two years ago. Since the congressman’s opponents cannot attack him on his independent, conservative and pro-life record in Congress, they have once again resorted to pure character assassination.”

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MTSU political science professor Mark Byrnes confirmed that conventional wisdom suggests that candidates will make accusations if they’re behind or appear to be losing a lead.

“The timing of this release reminds me of the October surprise that you often hear about in a potlical campaign,” said Byrnes, a dean of MTSU’s College of Liberal Arts and a faculty member for 21 years.

“A campaign will wait until a critical moment before it releases what it thinks to be an especially damaging attack on the opponent. The timing is certainly significant.”

Byrnes was not sure if the accusation against DesJarlais could end up being a game changer for this congressional election.

“It certainly has the potential to shake up the race a little bit,” Byrnes said. “I think it’s going to be hard to judge the impact, given that some information about the divorce and the facts about it came down two years ago. Part of this is old news. What’s different is the allegation that he encouraged his mistress to have an abortion. Two years ago it primarily seemed to be about his personal behavior and perhaps his character. These most recent allegations would raise those same questions about as well as raise the question about one of his stated policy beliefs.”

Stewart, a Democratic state senator running against DesJarlais, suggested the Republican incumbent is a pro-life hypocrite.

“The news we got today is about hypocrisy,” Stewart said. “This disqualifies the congressman from representing this district.

“It’s disgusting. It’s not our values.”

Stewart said the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision is the law of the land and that each woman should make decisions about abortions while consulting with her family.

“We need to do everything we can to reduce abortions,” Stewart said.

Local Republican leaders stand by DesJarlais, who won his seat two years ago by defeating incumbent Democrat Lincoln Davis.

“It is disappointing that Democrats Eric Stewart and Davis would dredge up personal attacks that failed and were rejected from the last congressional election,” Rutherford County Republican Party Chairman Austin Maxwell said. “It is not surprising that a failed losing former congressman such as Lincoln Davis would go out and attempt to smear him once again.

Rutherford County Democractic Party Chairwoman Judy Whitehill declined to comment on the accusations.